Over the course of my life, I have probably read thousands of books on cricket. I have a decent library, but when I sit down and think about it, my favorite books are about unsung heroes, in some cases people who have disappeared into the mists of time and are not household names.
Andrew Ladd’s fascinating book also covers the many and varied figures who have captained Northamptonshire since 1878.
I had not heard of many of the earlier works, which made this book all the more enjoyable. There are some impressive names, including ‘Tubby’ Vials, Rawlins Hawtin, ‘Punch’ Raven. My knowledge comes from the period of Vallance Jupp and later Freddie Brown, the cricketer and character.
Like Derbyshire, Northamptonshire have rarely reached the pinnacle of county cricket, and for many years they were considered perennial underdogs. But that has not changed anything when it comes to their contribution to the county game. Many outstanding players have played for them, and as this book shows, a significant number have been captains.
Dennis Brooks was a brilliant player before and after World War II and would have been a regular for England if he had played for another state. Rahman Subha Lowe became a respected match manager and Keith Andrews was England’s best wicket-keeper in the 1950s and early 1960s and one of the greats.
And then there was Jim Watts, a very insightful captain who led the county to victory, and then there were Alan Lamb, Rob Bailey, Matthew Hayden… the list could go on and on.
A lot of effort went into gathering the information to make this book informative and enjoyable to read, and I respect that, because not all of the information was readily available in the public domain.
This book looks at the difficulties all sides faced as the game changed and amateurs were no longer held accountable.
This book is a must-read for any Northamptonshire fan, but I can say that any cricket fan will want to read it again straight away after finishing it.
This was a truly wonderful piece of writing, and I once again have huge respect for Pitch Publishing for bringing this book to the world.
Faces on the Wall: A Collection of Curious Captains from an English County by Andrew Radd.
